Lincolnshire Police officers awarded two extra days off a year

The Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police has announced he is awarding officers in the county two extra days leave - to focus on their ‘wellbeing’.

In an attempt to improve how officers cope with ever increasing demands, the Chief Constable and the force have decided to introduce two additional days per year to be used to nurture the personal wellbeing of officers and staff.

The proposal announced today (Wednesday) has arisen as part of the force’s ongoing commitment to ensuring and improving the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual welfare of staff.

Chief Constable Bill Skelly said: “This is one of a number of initiatives that we will introduce over the next few months.

“I have been most impressed by the commitment of Lincolnshire Police staff and officers but I am increasingly seeing the impact that this can have on their physical and mental well-being. By encouraging our staff to take time to look after themselves I believe that we can make an improvement to how they feel at work.

“We hope that this will help to reduce sickness and improve levels of resilience across the organisation.”

It comes in recognition of ever increasing demands placed on officers and staff with tightening budgets and limited resources. The Chief Constable knows that without the space and time to allow for rest and recuperation, these demands can take a toll on an individual.

In Lincolnshire, officers have to deal with the specific needs of a large rural county. Recent surveys have shown that those involved in policing are regularly working longer hours than they are obliged to, that the incidents and pressures they face are taking a greater toll on them, and that the ability to recover is being compromised by the current shift patterns.

This is the first time that this has been tried in policing and is designed to encourage those who work for Lincolnshire Police to consider how well they are, and what could make them healthier so that they are best placed to deal with the incidents they face every day.